Businesses that are surefire bets for continued growth can make for solid investment opportunities. While dividend stocks can provide safety and give you recurring income, strong growth stocks can generate more significant returns in the long run. If you've got $5,000 you can afford to invest right now, a couple of stocks you should consider buying include Shopify (SHOP 0.90%) and Axsome Therapeutics (AXSM 0.40%).
1. Shopify
E-commerce stock Shopify is down an incredible 74% this year. The shares are trading at 2019 levels, even though the company's top line has tripled since then. And the business still has the potential to get even bigger. According to data from eMarketer, global sales from e-commerce could top $8.1 trillion by 2026 -- that's 56% higher than the $5.2 trillion that e-commerce generated last year.
Shopify's platform is essential to that growth since it integrates with many other sites, making it easy for merchants to convert sales. Last year, Shopify expanded its partnership with TikTok, one of the hottest social media sites in the world with close to 2 billion monthly active users, allowing merchants to create storefronts and utilize a shopping tab that would allow users to find products easily.
Earlier this year, Shopify also partnered with Alphabet's YouTube, enabling visitors to the video-sharing website to shop and view products right from a content creator's channel.
With many avenues still to pursue, Shopify's business remains a growing one. For the quarter ended Sept. 30, sales of $1.4 billion were up 22% year over year. Although it reported a net loss of $158.4 million, the company is cutting expenses, and so its prospects for profitability should improve.
While the global economy could slow down next year, e-commerce is likely going to continue to be a hot growth area to invest in. E-commerce has made great strides since the pandemic, with more companies offering flexible solutions to customers (like pickup and delivery), which should help lead to even more growth opportunities down the road.
At a beaten-down valuation, Shopify is an incredibly attractive buy right now and a great place to invest $5,000.
2. Axsome Therapeutics
Unlike a lot of stocks, Axsome Therapeutics has soared this year -- doubling in value. But at a market capitalization of just $3 billion, the business still isn't a terribly large one in the healthcare industry. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Auvelity earlier this year, which Axsome has developed to help treat major depressive disorder. It could be a potentially mammoth opportunity for the business, with analysts projecting that it could generate close to $2 billion in sales at its peak.
Consider that a growth stock like Shopify is trading at a significantly reduced price-to-sales multiple of less than nine. If Axsome traded at only three times its sales, that would mean Auvelity alone could potentially send it to a valuation of $6 billion -- close to double where the stock is right now. And that's without factoring in the revenue that it is generating from Sunosi, a narcolepsy treatment that could hit peak sales of more than $1 billion.
Axsome is still in its early growth stages. The business has brought in just $25.7 million in sales over the trailing 12 months. But with its promising potential, the stock has plenty of upside and can produce great returns on a $5,000 investment.
